Three Carl Stuart Middle School Students are honored by local veterans as winners of the annual "Patriot's Pen" essay contest.

The students, along with many of their peers, joined more than 120,000 students nationwide in participating in the contest.

The CSMS students swept the competition and won first, second and third place.

"When I found out my students won, I was thrilled and extremely proud of them" says teacher T.K. Gault. "They are great students and wonderful writers who understood the spirit of the essay's theme: "What Freedom Means to Me."

Patriot's Pen is an annual essay contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

It gives students an opportunity to write essays expressing their views on an annual patriotic theme.

The winning students were visited by VFW representatives Commander Jim Brewer and Chairman Jonathan Indell who awarded them with cash, a medal, and a certificate.